A/N - Japanese translations are at the bottom of the story.

XxXxXxX

"Naruto…"

L's steady voice called out to the emptiness behind him. There was a definite hint of concern in his tone though as his eyes tracked the growing line just above the horizon.

"I believe your friends have arrived."

XxXxXxX

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

… Hold…

Exhale.

Orange eyelids slowly pulled open. The quality of the natural energy in this world mightn't have been anything close to home, but for now it would room may have been dark, to help with the calming of his mind, but to his newly enhanced eyes it may as well have been day in there. Looking over to his side, the ninja collected his seals, kunai, rolls of wire and various other materials.

Hiding them under his red cloak draped over his shoulders, the teen pushed himself to his feet. Gripping his headband, he tied it extra tight around his forehead. Straightening his Saints Badge so it sat nice and level on his chest, Naruto took one last deep breath before walking out.

Coming to the cockpit, Naruto's incredibly keen eyes spotted the line of warriors and Legions making a beeline for their ship.

"Boy, what were all those bangs I heard earlier? It quite disrupted the controls with the power of them! I hope you didn't destroy anything back there."

Naruto stayed back out of L's line of sight. "You know as well as me that if I'd punched a hole in the ship wall everything would be a total mess right now. Those bangs were me just preparing."

Gently veering the great ship off route, L's eyes never left the approaching threat. "Well, I do hope you've properly prepared yourself. If you went and got yourself killed or captured it would prove to be very… problematic for me."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realise you cared so much for me. I'm touched."

L growled and shook his head. "Don't mock me. Just make sure you take your necessary precautions."

Turning, the blond began walking down to the cargo hold, talking calmly over his shoulder as he went. "I'm as prepared as I can get. I'm ready to fight the whole damn army if need. You just keep making your way toward the capital, I'll catch up as soon as I'm done."

Listening to his footsteps soften and disappear, L sighed and gripped the wheel. "Don't you dare die. You'll be useless and all this effort will be for nothing."

XxXxXxX

Naruto stood on the extended ramp with one hand holding the door tightly to avoid being blown off. His hair and the straps of his headband were lashing around furiously in the wind, the shear aggressiveness of their whipping making them almost take on a life of their own, as if they were blood lusted snakes hungry for the hunt.

As the line grew closer, Naruto took in all the details of his opponents. He had no idea how many guards the King had, but it seemed like the powerful chunk of them were right here.

Naturally, the most intense of all the warriors was Knightwalker who was at the front of the charge, her eyes flashing with murderous killing intent that Naruto could feel from all the way over here. Off to one side was Sugarboy, his face now looking as if it had been chiselled from granite so serious were his features. Off to her other side was an enormous humanoid cat covered in pitch black fur, a brazened gaze levelled directly at Naruto. The King's emblem was presented proudly upon his mighty breastplate with matching wrist guards glinting in the sunlight. An enormous sword hilt was strapped to his back, but for some reason there was no blade attached. Then behind those three had to be near three hundred other guards, all of them some sort of official rank with swords and shields at the ready.

That brought a smirk to the blonde's lips as he surveyed the charging hoard. At least they had decided to take him seriously.

Letting go, Naruto dropped off the ramp and let his chakra catch him. He moved slowly away from the ship and was pleased to see the group of guards ignore the airship. Knowing the ship was now safe for the moment, the ninja rolled his neck and shoulders around as a final warm up. "Well, better go meet them."

Leaning forward, he accelerated towards the group, his face just as steely as his opponents. It didn't take long before they were face to face and pulling up to stop at a respectable distance, Naruto eyed the group as they all pulled to a stop. For all their numbers though and save for the occasional snort of one of their beasts, they were dead silent in their movements. Erza was radiating pure hatred at this point, so taking the initiative Sugarboy pushed his Legion forward.

"Mage of Fairy Tail," he began, "You have been charged with the highest of offences, that being in direct opposition to our King in all of your movements. Up until this point, illegal as it is, being affiliated with a Dark Guild had been seen as still warranting you of a trial before the courts. However, your actions as of late have been inexcusable. Your theft of King's property, mockery of our supreme law and disregard of any and all human life has deemed it fit that if you do not surrender peacefully and immediately, you are to be executed on the spot. Knowing the likelihood you will not comply, we have brought the necessary Calvary to make sure your sentence will be served. What last words do you have before we begin?"

Taking a moment to gaze at each guard individually, Naruto's calm eyes finally came back to a rest on Sugarboy. "Are you sure you've brought enough men for this?"

Unable to contain herself, Knightwalker let out a fierce snarl and charged at the blond. Insanely fast as her acceleration was, Naruto simply blurred out of the easily predictable attack path and phased back into existence just off to the left of where Erza hurtled through. Ignoring that, Naruto continued. "You say the Fairy Tail members were given fair trials. Yet what about those that bitch behind me so proudly claimed to have killed? What about those who simply disappeared? What about the fear you struck deep into the hearts of all the family members who lived and made their living there and your disregard of their lives?"

Despite the accusations, not a single guard flinched.

"I heard enough from enough people to know you serve a monstrous King. I know enough that the murderer behind me is a criminal in everything but name. I know that Fairy Tail has until this point had no choice but to run in fear from your tyrannical dictatorship."

He then raised his hands, palms turned upwards. As he continued to speak, two bright balls of energy swirled into existence in each hand, both growing in size and intensity as his gaze darkened. "They had no chance against you, but then your King took that fight to MY world. To MY friends. To MY family." His eyes flashed in anger as the two now gigantic blue spinning orbs of death matured. "Before bringing me into this, he might have had a chance at wiping Fairy Tail out." Naruto's killing intent began washing over the guards as the Legions began to grunt and snort uneasily. "However, today I bring the fight to you. For every member of every guild killed by your murderous dictator, I am their VENGANCE!"

Spinning around a split second before Erza plunged her spear into his chest, Naruto crushed her Legion between his twin Rasengan. The beast didn't even have time to make a sound as its whole front end was chewed up like it had been thrown into a grinder. Blood and chunks exploded upwards, the rain of death drenching the entire squadron behind him. Erza was thrown from her steed, but instead of Sugarboy catching her, Naruto's hand snatched out and he sunk his viciously strong fingers into her ankle. Twisting her about in the air as if she were nothing but a rag, he spun her around once before flinging her earthward at breakneck speed.

Burning eyes snapped up to glare at the group and his ears caught the Black Panther whisper to Sugarboy, "You made no mention he was this capable!"

Hearing a muffled thump as Erza hit the ground, Naruto clasped his hands in the Ram sign and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Appearing directly between the two Royal Captains, he growled, "You couldn't even begin to grasp what I'm capable of!" and lashed out to knock both Royal Captains flying.

To the soldier's credit none of them broke formation despite how unsettled they were. Naruto had to rapidly dance back as a rain of spears filled the spot he'd been standing a moment earlier. Orders were barked and several guards split off to chase down both Sugarboy and the panther while another several shot towards the ground to tend to Erza.

Taking this moment to thin out a few of their numbers, the blond whirlwind began flickering through the squad, well placed blows sending guard after guard tumbling from their mount in various states of consciousness. He only managed to get about a tenth of them unseated before they worked out the pattern of attack and countered, spears and balls of crackling magic narrowly missing Naruto. Dancing backwards, the blond looked over the still composed group and silently praised their training. This must have been the cream of the crop.

A blast of killer intent suddenly hit the back of the teen and he just managed to roll forward out of the line of a sword slash from the giant panther. "MEN, HE IS FAST, SO BE FASTER!"

Scooting backwards, he retreated to a safe distance and gave the cat a once over. There was a big patch of crushed fur in the middle of his chest where Naruto had hit him, but aside from slightly heavier breathing he seemed ok. The monstrous sword with which the cat nearly beheaded him with was held out in front of his person proudly, the enormity of it apparently no issue to the muscle bound animal. It seemed to be glowing too, indicating magical properties behind it.

"Mmm that was dirty Naruto! I thought you Fairy Tail mages fought fair?"

Sugarboy eased in smoothly and circled around behind him, his breastplate now featuring a sizeable dint right above his sternum. It had done its job though and the man was no worse for the ware. Following his lead, the guards all encircled him in a large sphere, levelling their spears at him from all angles and effectively cutting off any escape route.

The teen eyed them all cautiously as he replied. "I'm not your typical mage. Even by Earthland standards." He glanced around once more just to confirm there was no way out. "So what happens now? Will you fight me one on one or isn't there anyone ballsy enough to try?"

Sugarboy chuckled mirthlessly and shrugged. "Come now boy, I've seen you fight our dear Erza. She's the best fighter we've ever had and you can even out do her. While more honourable, it would be suicide to try and take you on the way she does." He raised a hand and a sharp rattle rang out as magical weapons were levelled at Naruto. Translucent barriers then shot up and trapped him within a glowing blue ball. "Sadly for you, this means I'm quite happy to use brain to beat brawn. Men, fire!"

The entire ball then began to glow white as attacks were charged before being fired off rapidly. The sharp staccato of explosions quickly filled the prison with smoke, but the guards didn't let up for a second. Eventually Sugarboy held up his hand and the attacks instantly stopped. Smoke swirled around inside the ball, the air having been angrily stirred up and soft hisses of the grey smoke oozed out of the gaps between the shields. Craning their necks to try and see the result, Sugarboy, the panther and all the guards held their breaths as visibility gradually increased. As a form in the middle began taking shape though, they all began looking at each other in confusion.

"Sir, are you seeing what we are seeing?"

Squinting, Sugarboy raised his hand and nodded. "Mmm… yes I am my good man. Guards, ready your weapons!"

Before they had a chance though, one of the guards shrieked as something slimy attached itself to his waist and snatched him into the smoke. His voice was abruptly cut off and a second later, a gross, wet burp sent cold shivers through every man there.

"Sore wa hontoni warui Naruto-san!"

The alien language further chilled the men as the form in the smoke began to condense into something that was distinctly not Naruto.

"Gomenasai Ryu! Watashi o sukutte kurete arigato!"

"Sir…?"

"Hold!" While just as unnerved as his men, Sugarboy showed no weakness and held up a fist. The smoke finally cleared enough and they all struggled to make sense of what they were seeing.

An enormous fat toad was now in the spot Naruto had just stood and Naruto… had mostly been absorbed by the toad's back, only the top of his head poking out from between the warts that covered it. It looked like a creature straight out of a horror movie and more than one guard was heard dry reaching at the sight.

Those that weren't already fully disgusted were then treated to Naruto beginning to crawl from the toad's skin like a parasite, the flesh almost refusing to let him go as he pulled himself up. Finally with one sickly pop, Naruto freed his foot from the amphibian.

"Kimoi! Watashi wa kore ni narenaidarou." Naruto exclaimed as he flicked the slime off his arms.

Unable to understand anything either Naruto or the toad were saying, the guards all looked at each other nervously, especially since that first guard who had disappeared hadn't reappeared.

The giant toad appeared to make a motion that looked something like a shrug in response to that. "Boku no mondai janai. Anata wa sore o motome."

Finally ridding himself of most of the film, Naruto turned and looked at his captors with a smirk. "So what do you think of my friend Ryu?"

Sugarboy pointed a shaking finger at the immense animal and struggled to find the words. "Naruto… my boy, what on earth IS that?"

"This?" Naruto reached down and gave the toad a pat on the head to which it let out a satisfied burble. "This is me levelling the playing field. One verse three hundred seemed a bit unfair to me, so I called in a friend."

Tapping his heel once, the amphibian suddenly inhaled vast amounts of air, paused and then shot scalding hot oil from its mouth straight into the shields. Luckily for the guards, the shields held firm but the overwhelming intensity of the heat made more than half the squad recoil in pain. Shield compromised, Naruto grabbed the toad and shot through a hole like a bullet. Gaining space, Naruto pulled the toad up and whispered, "Watashi wa ima anata o otoshimasu. Watashi wa chotto ochirudarou."

Feeling more than seeing the toad nod, Naruto let go and watched the giant animal begin falling earthward. Turning his attention back to the guards, he rapidly banked left as a spear grazed his ear. Twisting past another one, Naruto's keen eyes tracked its motion and reaching out, grabbed it mid-flight and hurled it back. A sharp crack rang through the air as it collided with a shield, snapping in half from the force.

"I must admit, I am very impressed with your fighting skills." The enormous panther rose up before his men, eyes and face still set firm but now an unmistakable glint shining in his eye. 'He's enjoying this', realised Naruto. A long black finger pointed at him and the cat called out, "For the sake of tradition between duelling parties, I will give you my name! I am Panther Lily, the Magic Militia's First Division Commander of the Royal Army! State your name!"

"Uzumaki Naruto, member of Fairy Tail!"

Finally a smirk crept onto Panther Lily's face and he held a hand out as Sugarboy approached. "Stay your sword, I would like to test myself against him."

Reaching into his back pocket, Naruto pulled out a scroll and unravelled it. A large seal was uncovered and Naruto slapped a hand to it. "Why keep all the fun to yourself…" a sudden explosion went off and the guards all jumped "when you can each get one of me!"

The scroll was furled with a crisp click and the smoke was blown away to reveal two more Naruto that had just appeared.

Eyes wide, Panther Lily called out, "What sort of magic is this? I've never witnessed such a technique!"

The new triplets grinned and began moving apart. "This is called preparation and execution. Never underestimate someone with even thirty minutes worth of planning." The middle Naruto then began dropping, his eyes never leaving the group.

Suddenly realising what this meant, Sugarboy called out urgently, "A third of the guards to Knightwalker, a third to Panther Lily and a third to me!"

A loud cry sounded out and the group split. With a sharp nod to one another, Sugarboy and Panther Lily turned and each chased after one retreating Naruto.

XxXxXxX

"Encircle him men! Mmm, just as we have practised, you know the drill!"

Sword pointing to indicate the positions, the guards rapidly followed formation and quickly shut off Naruto's escape routes. The blond merely looked over his shoulder and gauged how far he had flown. Seeing the remaining forces were a fair distance away, he nodded and came to a stop. Turning, he slowly looked around as the guards snapped into position and levelled their spears at him.

Finally acknowledging Sugarboy, Naruto put his hands on his hips. "You really have brought the best of the best with you this time." His eyes rolled around, indicating the ball of death he was now within.

"Mmm Naruto my boy, did you think we'd settle for anything less than the best after what you've shown us? You deserve that level of respect, at least as a warrior."

To that statement Naruto gave a quick nod. "I'll take that compliment for what it is." He then thrust his hands into his pockets, taking on an entirely open posture. "So why do you fight for this King of yours? What does he do that makes you so loyal, even though he is quite happy with killing anyone to get what he wants?"

The eccentric man's brow furrowed and a serious expression adorned Sugarboy's usually goofy face. "He is my King. I'll say no more on it."

Shrugging, Naruto leant back. "Guess I'll just have to convince you to tell me more."

He then vanished and reappeared beside the commander. A split second reaction saved the man from a few broken ribs as he half unsheathed his sword and caught the kick aimed for his side. Pushing him back, Sugarboy followed through with a slash that Naruto nimbly slid under. A staccato pop of magical attacks rushed his position but Naruto simply seemed to glide through them. Suddenly wincing, Sugarboy slapped a hand to his side and gasped. "What is this? How am I injured? I blocked your attack!"

Naruto gracefully skated through a few more elemental attacks and smirked. "Kawazu Kumite. Tricks of the trade. If you can translate that I'll tell you more."

Scowling, the commander jumped back and levelled his spear at the teen. A sudden glowing of powerful magic orbs lit up the inside of the prison before they were all fired off as one. It appeared like Naruto was swallowed within a blue sphere and an enormous explosion almost certainly ended his life. All eyes were trained on the spot, all hoping to see some confirmation that the blond criminal was now gone. A tattered white cape though was all that fell from the smoke and an urgent cry of, "SIR!" was all Sugarboy needed to whip around to cut the air behind him. His wrist was caught effortlessly though and a second hand snaked around his shoulder to lock his elbow up at an awkward angle.

Finally face to face with Naruto, Sugarboy grimaced against the pain of the grapple. However, it was then he noticed something different about his adversary. 'Why is this boy so strong this time around? And why are his eyes orange?'

As if reading his mind, Naruto smirked. "Having a bit more trouble this time around hey?"

Scowling, Sugarboy called out in reply, "FIRE!" and without hesitation, a deluge of attacks from the guards rained down on the pair.

"Woah!" Letting go, Naruto managed to evade the attacks, but the same couldn't be said for Sugarboy, though… oddly enough, the attacks seemed to be melting around him. The explosions then set off behind the man, safely away from his harm.

Turning with a smirk, Sugarboy levelled his sword at him and cried out, "VOLLEY SPHERE!" and rushed in alongside the attacks.

Unsure about this odd style of suicide attack, Naruto switched to the defensive and began weaving through the attacks. Suddenly, an oddly shaped ball of magic exploded in his face and threw him back. Unfazed, Naruto continued weaving and focused on Sugarboy. The man was growling with effort, his parries, thrusts and slices all aimed with incredible precision as he tried to take down his enemy. For all the danger the commander was in though, none of the friendly magical attacks seemed to be hitting. The guards may have been well trained, but no one short of Tenten could be so accurate as to avoid their friend while trying to decapitate their target.

Another oddly shaped attack out of place exploded in Naruto's face and he managed to duck just as it detonated. Keen eyes picked up an incoming slash and Naruto arched his back up and over the sword. Time seemed to slow down as he watched it pass beneath him, but it was then he noticed something. As Sugarboy carried through his attack, a wayward magic ball got in its path but instead of being chopped up, the ball seemed to turn to liquid and was redirected up at Naruto. Reforming on the other side of the blade, Naruto had nowhere to move and took the blunt force of the attack. It seemed like that was the magical property of Sugarboy's sword.

Being pushed up and over to the guards, Naruto whipped out a kunai and snapped his arm out to parry away the launched spears. The guards seemed to have spares though because they were replaced as soon as they were thrown, magical balls igniting at the tips again before driving the teen back.

Feeling more than seeing Sugarboy lunge at him, Naruto smashed his hands together in a Ram seal and vanished in a flicker. Sugarboy's eyes suddenly widened and he twisted both body and Legion to avoid skewering his companion who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Catching the stunned man, the collective group looked around in shock before a stunned shout had all weapons turned upwards. Right at the very top of the sphere, Naruto was sitting on top of the Legion that the guard had formally occupied, his keen eyes studying Sugarboy's actions.

"How did you do that? Stop using cheap tricks, Mage of Fairy Tail!"

Ignoring the statement, Naruto pointed at the growling Commander. "You were never intending to kill me, were you?"

All eyes suddenly turned to Sugarboy questioningly. The man grit his teeth, but said nothing. Pushing the opening, Naruto explained. "You might be an exceptional swordsman, but sorry to say, you're not the best I've ever encountered, and even the best would struggle to avoid hitting a target like that so last second."

Angered eyes matched Naruto's and he spat back, "What, will you mock me now for having compassion upon even your life?"

To his surprise though, Naruto's reply was the complete opposite to what he was expecting. "Not at all, in fact, I'm pleased to see that. You don't kill for your King, do you?"

A troubled expression crossed Sugarboy's face and his shook his head. "I have killed for my King and I would do it again."

Seeing a chip in the armour, Naruto pressed it. "I'd hazard a guess that they were only those you'd deemed in your heart a threat to society. I haven't hurt anyone outside of the guards and Knightwalker."

The Commander paused, trying very hard to work out this very odd route of questioning. "What is your angle here boy?"

Naruto held his hands out disarmingly and a breeze coursed through the group. "Just confirming something. I'm going to go now and I can't have you attacking the other groups, so goodbye."

The breeze suddenly and violently increased in strength around the teen and an enormous tornado erupted from him. Unable to battle the sudden force of nature, guards, Commander and all the Legions were swept up and away within the tube. Guiding the tornado back towards the ground, the Blond exercised his immense chakra reservoirs and drilled the entire squadron into the ground.

Body upon body slammed into the earth and with a final crunch, Sugarboy landed heavily upon his Legion, the massive beast cushioning his fall. As the attack (if that's what you could call it) subsided, the dazed captain looked around at his men and realised that none were moving. A thump before him drew his attention and Naruto stood there, arms crossed and an expectant tilt in his brow.

Sighing, Sugarboy dropped his head back and he looked to the sky. "Mmmm… we were totally outclassed, and by a single man. Why did you even play with us?"

Ignoring the question, Naruto asked again, "Why do you fight for your King?"

Rolling his head to the side, the beaten Commander pointedly avoided eye contact but replied all the same. "I have a mother of failing health. The King helped after he saw my aptitude with the sword. All her needs are met as long as I serve his will."

Only nodding in reply, Naruto walked forward. Hearing the footsteps, Sugarboy clenched his eyes shut and whispered out, "Kill me quickly, that's a good boy."

Kneeling down before him, Naruto shook his head as fingers wrapped around the man's neck. "No can do sorry."

There was a sharp crack and Sugarboy's startled expression faded.

Rising back to his feet, the ninja rolled his neck and nodded as he saw the man's chest began to ease into an easy rhythm of breathing. "You don't deserve to die. You might fight for a horrible King, but you still have kept your heart. Enjoy your nap, this will all be well and truly over by the time you wake up."

Seeing a sole guard move and groan, Naruto picked up a rock and chucked it at the man. A sharp crack rang out and he became motionless again.

Turning his gaze over to his doppelganger in the sky, Naruto grinned. "Good news here, let's see how the other two are doing."

The timing of the fight was about as perfect as it could be as the teen copy didn't even have to release the technique. His chakra expired and any trace of the clone vanished into a small cloud leaving behind a land of silent defeat.

XxXxXxX

*CRASH*

With a straining grunt, both man and cat were pushed back from one another such was the force of their clash. Still, this was only the beginning of the fight where they were both testing one another's limits. Dust kicked up from their heels after they took the fight to the ground. Fighting upon a Legion didn't seem to suit Panther Lily's style and had left his ride behind.

"Aren't you enjoying yourself a little too much for how serious this is meant to be, Lily?"

Naruto's remark came after that last hit drew them close enough together to see the giant cat struggling to hold back a wide grin, his eyes positively dancing with excitement.

Said cat shook his wrists out after he came to a stop, enjoying the vibration tingle that ran through his arms. "It has been too long since I was challenged by a worthy foe. I may have been sent here to capture you, but I can see you are enjoying this just as much as myself."

Smirking, Naruto shrugged and admitted to being read. "You don't seem as bloodthirsty as Knightwalker and Sugarboy doesn't seem to like fighting for the sake of it, despite his ability to do so. It's a pleasant change to fight for the sake of contest." His face firmed as he continued, "Don't think for a second though that I mean to simply treat this as a spar. I will fight and I will win."

"Big words mage. I do hope you are as skilled as you suggest!" Dashing in, the mighty panther growled and reared his massive sword back. Dancing back, Naruto avoided the slash and back flipped a few times to gain some distance. He spared a glance at the numerous soldiers above him, all their weapons trained on him. While Panther Lily may have ordered them to stay out of it, he wasn't going to trust that they would. A sneak attack could be the deciding factor in this, no matter how much his opponent was enjoying himself.

That thought took only a microsecond though and as soon as he stopped, he charged back in fists raised high. The weight of the sword caused Lily to really over commit the follow-through of his swing and that was something Naruto was quite willing to take advantage of.

Lashing out, Naruto was fully expecting to bury his fist into fur, but to his surprise a metallic clang stopped his attack, Panther Lily somehow managing to manoeuvre the sword back down to shield himself. Pushing off it, Naruto scooted back and looked up at the towering weapon. Now that he was able to really see it, it was a good four times the length of Panther Lilly, and he was already twice as tall as Naruto! A single bead of sweat rolled down his cheek as he studied the thing. That took some serious muscle to be able to even wield, let alone fight competently with.

"Just out of curiosity, how heavy is that thing?"

A deep chuckle from behind the blade's protection belayed Lily's amusement. "Truthfully, I've never checked. However, there is no one else in the Kingdom who can use it."

"I'd bet. It's huge."

'That's what she said!' Shut up, memory of Ero-sennin. Not the time.

For Naruto, had he been the original it wouldn't have been anywhere near as disastrous, but for a much more fragile clone, this was going to have to be handled exceptionally carefully. His supply of Natural Energy was depleting rapidly, the fact the whole dimension was so thinly stretched of it a vast contributor to this problem.

Lowering his centre of gravity, Naruto began to circle the cat to try and find a weakness. The way he moved with the sword in hands showed that the warrior had practised for years with that one sword. No one could just pick something up like that and learn to wield it any sooner. That being said, for his immense control, Lily's arms still bulged greatly even just holding the sword up. He might be fast with it, but Naruto guessed that a large portion of why the cat seemed so fast was just because of how wide the blade was, a simple wrist movement would have him protected no matter what angle the ninja came in from.

A puff of dust kicked up as the combatants suddenly lashed out, Naruto's slighter frame getting a good hammering from the blade dropping onto his much smaller Kunai. Gritting his teeth under the pressure, Naruto shifted his weight and lifted his heel. There was just enough time to mould some chakra within his foot and he dropped it into the ground. The tiny energy bomb detonated and while it didn't do much damage aside from a few small fissures, it was enough to destabilise Lily and as he struggled to catch his footing, Naruto used the breach in defence to slide around the blade and lash out a furious kick into the cat's face. There was a sharp crack from a few vertebra being realigned as Lily slid back, a large swelling pushing his fur up on his cheek. Not about to waste the opening Naruto pushed the advantage and rushed in with a well versed kata.

The big sword may have been useful at a distance but up this close it was just dead weight. Heavy blows deposited themselves into Lily's body, resounding thumps like a massive drum being hit echoing out as fist, elbow and shoulder made swift and powerful connections with the panther's torso. Planting a final foot into the ground, Naruto drew the energy within himself into his fist right as it connected with Lily's abdomen and sent the giant cat careening back into his men. There were startled yelps as the soldiers attempted to dodge their captain but a few were knocked off their feet.

Despite all this though, once the big cat came to a stop he looked up with a positively devilish glint in his eye. "I haven't been hit that hard in a very long time! So you can dish them out, but can you take them?"

'No chance!' The thought flicked through Naruto's panicked mind as he danced out of the way of a mighty swing, his clothes lashing about with the after-draught from the sword. Dashing back a few paces, the blond considered the cat with a hint of trepidation. 'He just tanked those blows like they were a massage. His face might be a mess but it hardly looks like any serious damage. All that fur hides any weak spots I could hit again too. What sort of conditioning has this animal gone through?'

His large opponent was grinning as he bounced around on the balls of his feet, clearly enjoying himself. "You may be fast mage, but all it will take is one hit to see what you're made of!"

Dashing in again, the sword led the charge with a rapid series of stabs that the blond snaked through. Noticing an over-extension of trust, Naruto jumped at the chance to get out of danger and slid to the ground beneath Panther Lily's legs. Jumping up the other side, he heard a chuckled "Got you!" as something wrapped around his ankle.

Feeling his movement halted, orange/blue eyes only just managed to spy the furry tail curled around his ankle before his legs were ripped out from underneath him.

Planting his feet solidly, Lily used his sword as a counterweight as he began slamming Naruto into the ground over and over like a wet towel. Finally, the blond was flicked up into the air and was treated to a monstrous spinning kick that sent him flying back into the guards. Again, a few soldiers were knocked over from a body flying into them, but true to their orders they didn't attack Naruto. The circle simply reshuffled around his position as the clone winced on the ground.

That kick had very nearly dispelled him. Even now, his could feel the energy that comprised his being quaking from within, the only thing holding it all together being the blonde's strength of will. Heavy footsteps grew louder as they neared Naruto's head, the teen gradually stabilising himself enough that he was able to look up. A pair of shackles dangled down before his face and the big cat knelt before him. "So are you willing to come peacefully? If you do I can promise you a fair trial as I will vouch on your behalf."

Still not quite able to pull himself up, Naruto remained on all fours as he considered the animal. "So why do you fight for this King of yours? What does he do that makes you so loyal, even though he is quite happy with killing anyone to get what he wants?"

Not a flicker of emotion graced Panther's face as he replied, "I fight in the army of the King after I lost my home. He took me in."

There seemed a lot more in that statement than what he let on. The stony face showed he wasn't going to be talking much more about it though. Considering how to stretch time out longer to allow himself more time to recover, Naruto then asked, "So what happens if you arrest me now? You said you wouldn't kill me and after only having dealt with Knightwalker and Sugarboy, I wouldn't trust them with even my toenail clippings. What would you do?"

Placing the shackles at Naruto's hands, Panther Lily grunted. "I said you would receive a fair trial, and that is what you will get. You might be one part of three, but if I can bring at least you in maybe one part of you will survive. Sugarboy does what he has to and Knightwalker… well there's a reason she's Second Captain of the War Division. Don't you wish to live?"

Finally able to sit, the blond considered his options. This wasn't in the original part of the plan, but what Panther Lily here was offering was actually a very good chance at infiltration. A suicide attack at this point would be useless and realistically, against Panther Lily with the amount of chakra he had left, he'd only get one shot. The whole purpose of drawing him away was to simply be a distraction, so with this it would mean the animal would be distracted for far longer. As it was, trusting L was a scary enough concept, so to trust this particular opponent had no real losing outcomes. And if Lily lied and killed the clone, he simply vanishes and the real Naruto can come back to reap his revenge.

Coming to his conclusion, Naruto slowly nodded. "You know what, I might take you up on this." Panther Lily grinned and went to shackle Naruto, but a sharp snap of the wrist halted that. "You promise not to kill me before we get to the castle?"

Lily locked eyes with the blond, as serious as a monstrous cat humanoid could be. "I swear on my honour, I will not kill you."

Staring into his eyes a moment longer, Naruto considered his words before shrugging. "Fine, I give up. Just be careful, I think your kick cracked a few ribs."

Allowing himself to be shackled, Naruto relaxed as ten guards rushed in after Lily signalled and wrapped him up tightly in ropes and magic suppression seals. His eyebrow raised in amusement at that second part of his bindings. "You planned ahead."

Gripping the rope that now bound Naruto up, Panther Lily chuckled and gave him a gentle tug. "We have ourselves an otherworldly opponent here. We'd be asking for pain if didn't take all the precautions we could."

"You're not wrong," came the grunted reply as Naruto gingerly pulled himself to his feet. Best bluff a bit so they would treat him even a mite more cautiously. He was still rattling from that fight and it would probably only take another half-hearted punch to finish him off. His best bet for now was sit quietly and try absorb as much Natural Energy as he could.

Allowing himself to be guided over to the growling Legion, the young ninja looked over his shoulder as a sudden wave of memories hit him. Sugarboy was down, so that just left the original with Knightwalker. If there was one thing the clone was happy about, it was that he didn't have to verse that murderous bitch. Leave her to the original, at least his injuries would heal. Once he won though, the close was interested to see what sort of stories his memories would tell.

XxXxXxX

SLASH – DODGE – COUNTER – COUNTER – LUNGE – SUBSTITUTE – SWIPE – "CRAP" – BLOOD – PARRY – KICK – BLOCK – PUNCH PUNCH PUNCH

Nearly decapitating a soldier with a vicious roundhouse, Naruto quickly relieved the man of his lance and whipped it around just in time to catch a perfectly executed lunge from five guards. Slamming the lance down, he drove the heads into the ground and using the momentum like a catapult, flung himself over the attackers and into an awaiting group. Launching the lance into the group, he managed to distract them long enough to flick through a set of hand seals. He was instantly replaced by a large chunk of earth torn up by a prior attack, the men only having a moment to shriek before they were buried. Twisting through the air to avoid a volley of magical attacks, Naruto whipped out six kunai and flung them into the group. Unseen to the soldiers, a hair-thin piece of wire was attached to the handle of each projectile and with a deft flick of the wrist, Naruto re-angled the kunai mid flight. All of a sudden they were wrapping up a group of guards tightly and before they could hope to move, the blond struck a chakra coated knee to the earth and pumped a ton of energy into the ground. The men howled in fear as the earth liquefied and sucked them down to their necks and effectively removed them from battle.

There was no time to check his work though as instincts screamed at him. He flung himself flat as Knightwalker shot past him again, very nearly taking his head off in the process. Keen eyes tracked her trajectory and quickly jumping over a low sweeping spear, the blond kicked away the guard to gain a moments space. Charging his fingers with chakra, he drove his hands elbow deep into the ground and gritting his teeth, heaved an almighty boulder out of the earth and chucked the great thing straight into Erza. Abandoning her mount, she let it be crushed as she danced over to another waiting Legion. Her eyes blazed with cold, calculating fury as she considered her next move; her new mount circling up and out of range.

Naruto returned the venomous glare, even as he was accosted by another wave of guards. The whole troop worked like a perfectly oiled machine as no matter how quickly he dispatched the men, replacements were there within seconds. Knightwalker's initial command of, "Do not let him have a moments rest!" was being followed to the letter. While a few were down for the count here and there, that armour of theirs was sturdy and those who were knocked back had the luxury of a moments rest before jumping back into the fray. To top it all off, right when he was most distracted Erza would come shooting in, intent on inflicting a life ending injury.

Thus her apparent game plan was laid, distract with cannon fodder and wait for a brief opening before attacking. While no lasting damage was being dealt, the sheer numbers was becoming tiresome.

Just at that moment his toad came barrelling through the ranks of guards, bleeding from several spears embedded in his hide. "Quick Naruto, grab one!"

"Thanks partner!" Gripping the handle, Naruto tugged a lance free without so much a grunt from the amphibian. Driving the blunt end into the chest of an approaching guard, the ninja pole vaulted up into the face of another guard and planted the sole of his boot squarely on his nose. A chakra powered launch then sent Naruto shooting into the sky as the guard was buried into the ground.

Rapidly gaining altitude, Naruto zipped around a few dozen magical attacks launched at him as he focused on getting out of range. Finally rising high enough, the blond spun around and glared back down into the fray. Ryu was getting absolutely hammered down there and by the looks of it he wasn't too far away from dispelling. None of the wounds were life threatening, but a non-stop fight like this would undoubtedly be sucking away Ryu's stamina very quickly.

Keen eyes flicked over the approaching fleet of guard mounted Legions and Naruto snorted angrily as he failed to see the one true menace. Erza wasn't amongst them, so that could only mean –

Battle honed instincts screeched at him again and he spun around, only to get two eyes full of sun and send him blind for a second. That moment was all it took and with a mighty crash Naruto vanished from his place.

Ferocious winds whipped his hair and clothes around as the teen struggled. Naruto strained against the crushing jaw pressure of the Legion, his feet planted firmly between the gaps in the teeth, each hand clutching an incisor the length of his forearm. Blinking the black spots away in his vision, Naruto begrudgingly admitted he'd been had. Sneaky bitch had flown up and hidden above him in his line of sight to the sun. This was hardly enough to finish him though.

Wedging a shoulder onto the edge of an incisor to free a hand, Naruto held up his palm as a familiar blue ball blossomed in his palm. Pushing the attack into the gullet of the beast, it gave a strangled howl as its insides were mangled. It coughed a huge volume of blood all over Naruto's face and torso right before it spat him out and died. Using the blinding amount of blood to her advantage, Knightwalker dived into Naruto, her magic spear shape-shifting into a huge mallet. Screaming out, she swung the huge thing and belted Naruto like an oversized croquet ball. She was quick to have it change forms and in a heartbeat had a monster cannon in her hands. Pointing it behind her, she fired and felt the huge thing bend her in half as the kick sent her rocketing towards the blond.

Glancing over her shoulder, she honed in on the blood soaked youth and let loose another, slightly angled shot. The resultant effect sent the woman into a blindingly fast spin, weapon pulled back into her chest tightly, now holding the form of a lithe spear. Timing the attack with battle sense, she suddenly lashed out with her spear-turned-mallet and walloped Naruto with the single biggest hit he'd taken from anyone since arriving in Earthland.

A deafening boom coupled with a shockwave shot out from the point of contact and a human sized blur streaked into the ground with the force of a meteorite. The earth shook as a crater bloomed out from the impact zone like a massive flower.

Having transferred most of her energy into the attack, Erza was left spinning at a comfortable rate, allowing her to change her mallet back into the cannon and use the force of the shots to slow her decent back to earth. Landing lightly on the balls of her feet, the commander allowed herself a few deep breaths. The thrill of the hunt still coursed through her veins, all senses on high alert even after a resounding victory. This mage had given her the best fight she'd had in a long time and she revelled in her win.

Finally standing up, she cocked her ear and heard the swarm of Legion in the distance as they struggled to catch up. Nodding smugly, she used her now lance as a half crutch to walk herself over to the edge of the crater. Surveying the area though, she frowned as she struggled to spot the blond. A few tattered pieces of clothe were littered around but there was no sight of him.

"Must have hit the mongrel too hard and buried him. The guards can dig him out," she mused.

Turning her attention to the growing black dots in the distance, she raised an arm and started waving. The sound of rubble shifting though made her stop waving and slowly look over her shoulder.

A body was pushing up through the dirt and rocks in the epicentre.

"Impossible…" The word slipped from her lips on the ghost of her breath as she watched the boy drag himself up. Very slowly that was sure, but the fact he was alive was inconceivable. That blow he'd taken could have levelled a small mountain! Of that she was sure!

Raising her lance and taking her stance, her eyes glowed angrily as she gave a humourless chuckle. "Not ready to die yet, aye, mage?" She practically spat.

Deep cuts and dark bruises covered the dirty teen as he slowly stood up. His headband had slipped down and covered the top part of his face. The jostling of his body gradually loosened it and finally as he pulled himself straight, it slipped off and Knightwalker suppressed a flinch. A deep, dark mixture of red and orange eyes bored holes into her very soul. His voice was quiet but carried well enough to her ears.

"You forget something you witch…" her eyes narrowed at that, "I'm not a mage. I'm a ninja."

All of a sudden a pair of hands burst forth from the dirt beneath her feet and gripped her ankles. A sudden burst of movement before her saw her sword snatched from her hands as she was dragged underground. Struggle as she might, she felt the earth move around her like a living being, compacting down on her limbs so tight she couldn't move. Even breathing at this point was a struggle, but she still managed to sneer up at her opponent. "Congratulations… you gave me a comfy bed… to have a nap in… I might have fallen asleep if… if I wasn't here on orders to take your head home."

Kneeling down to stare into her eyes, Naruto cut her back with an insult of his own. "Big words for someone currently buried up to their neck. What are you going to do? Cuss me to death?"

The sneer deepened and it began tugging at the redhead's nose. "Trust me boy, I'll teach you words… that will make your mother's ears blush red by proxy." She then snorted. "So what now? You just going to… play with my little magic toy? Sit there and stare into these pretty eyes? You'll want… to make up your mind quickly. My guards will be here any moment."

A shake of his head caused Knightwalker to cock an eyebrow. "No, no, what I'm going to do is ask you a few questions. First -" he rang a sharp punch into her nose as she tried to speak, "Ah-ah, you only answer the questions. I don't have enough time to verbally spar with you right now, what with your guards being here any moment." He mimicked her last sentence, causing her to growl at him through the fresh blood trickling over her lips.

"Clear? Good. Now, first, why on earth do you fight for your King?" He settled down and looked at her expectantly.

Not the question she was expecting. However, if the brat wanted to know why she fought, she'd tell him everything he wanted. "Because the King gave me the freedom to do this." She nodded toward the hole Naruto had crawled out of. A dark grin spread over her face as she stared up into his eyes. Not as a person, but as a predator. "I love to fight. The harder the fight… the greater the win, it's just orgasmic." Naruto turned his head to the side with a grimace as the woman moaned sexually. "This is the life I've dreamed of. The King… pointed me in whatever direction he wanted and I went. I am his spear… his extension of will, I command life and death!" Her blood thirsty grin widened with every breath. "Do you understand that? Boy? Do you? That feeling of… absolute power? I doubt it though, since last time you were… merely content with giving my throat a bit of a squeeze."

Turning his eyes back to the vile woman, Naruto stared at her with squinted eyes. "So you like to murder innocents?"

"Pfft, hardly innocent. They were only ever… criminals against the throne." She then nodded at his palm. "Your guild mates falling under that category."

The squint was overshadowed with a frown. "But why? They used a bit of magic, which hardly counted as something worth killing over!"

The predatory glint returned to her eyes. "Maybe, but when it says 'dead or alive' on the poster… who am I to discriminate?"

Muscle groups bunched as Naruto swallowed a growl. "So once you're rescued from here, even if I have convincingly kicked your ass, you won't stop?"

The woman cackled before levelling him with a sharp glare and equally sharp tongue. "Never! I will never stop… hunting you and your guild down! My King has demanded their end and I… I shall be the one to make it so! There is no hole you can crawl into… no mountain you can climb… no ocean you can swim to the bottom of… where I will not find you and end you! And once I'm done here... I'm coming to your dimension to finish the job."

Orange/red eyes hardened and Naruto knelt right down in front of her face. "Well, we best make sure that never happens then."

She let out a sharp laugh. She met his glare, her eyes mocking his threat openly. "Ha! What do you expect to do? You're as soft as –"

Her wide, mocking mouth stopped moving, her sneer sagged slightly and her eyes fell dull. A soft, long breath eased its way from her mouth and nose as her neck relaxed. Her head gently rocked forward and she became still.

"I'll do whatever I need to ensure my guild mates safety, both in my dimension and this. This end was too good for you, but you're not worth the effort for anything more." He looked up to the clone kneeling behind Knightwalker, unseen by her the whole time they had spoken. Its hand remained on the kunai it had slipped into the base of her skull.

They shared a mutual, grim glance at the deed done before Naruto pulled himself to his feet. "Pull her under then smooth the ground over. No traces."

The clone nodded once and disappeared into the ground. A moment later Knightwalker's head bobbled slightly before slowly inching under the soil. Vacant eyes stared up at the blue sky for one last time as dirt and rock tumbled over her face, finally ending the reign of the Fairy Killer.

Hearing the earth grumble and shift behind him, Naruto felt the clone rise up and dust himself down. He didn't need to look to know the burial was perfect.

"So, what now? You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Naruto glanced over at his clone as the rush of wings filled the air. "Yep. I'll head on after L. You go with them and see what you can discover about the state of the Lacrima."

The clone nodded and suddenly exploded. Instead of disappearing though, a picture perfect replica of Erza Knightwalker now stood beside Naruto, mouth pulled into a sneer and one hand placed on her hip. "Get out of here now. They'll see you if you wait any longer."

Simply nodding, Naruto turned and gave no glance to the last resting place of the killer of hundreds as he jumped back into the crater. Gathering up his headband, he jumped out and dashed off into the distance.

XxXxXxX

Naruto sat with his legs crossed on the back of Lily's Legion. Bound as tightly as he was, it wasn't vastly uncomfortable and as such was able to dedicate a good amount of his concentration to stabilising his donated chakra. It wasn't long after Lily's squadron had taken to the air that they'd received the call that Sugarboy was down. Despite the glares Naruto could feel directed very pointedly at him, he just whistled indifferently and kicked back to enjoy the ride.

They'd arrived minutes later to find the entire group laid out either unconscious or extremely dazed. The troop had rushed to all the men and were astounded to find not a single casualty. As the reports of injuries but no deaths poured in, Panther Lily glanced back at the quiet captive and grunted, "What happened here? Why isn't anyone dead?"

Naruto shrugged as best he could. "How would I know? I was fighting you."

The look in Lily's eyes clearly showed he didn't believe him, but regardless he turned his attention away.

"… thank you…"

Naruto shot a surprised glance at Lily. That had been far too quiet for anyone to hear, but with his Natural Energy booster shot he'd made out the whisper. That was the last thing he'd been expecting to hear. This weird cat person thing had suddenly earned a few points in the blonde's book.

"Sir, that's everyone accounted for. I don't know how, but no one is fatally wounded."

Hearing the final report, Lily sighed and stretched out an arm. "Half the team load up the wounded and prepare to transport them back to the capital. The rest, with me! We're going to support Knightwalker."

An affirmative shout rang out and the group promptly split in two as Panther Lily mounted his Legion. Lifting into the air, they shot off towards the final battle. They passed the land locked soldiers of Erza's company momentarily, the dead and dying remains of their Legions strewn around. Seeing this, Lily squared his jaw and ploughed on faster, intent on catching up to the first group chasing after Erza.

It was only a few minutes after that that they all landed and jumped off. Jogging over, a bloodied but otherwise ok Knightwalker stood before them, barking angry orders at the new arrivals. The huge crater behind her didn't escape Lily's notice but he chose not to mention it, such was his Commander's mood currently. Adding everything together as best he could, Lily ventured a cautious, "Where did he go?"

He got a growl, but instead of his head being chewed off as expected, a much 'calmer' response greeted him. "The little bastard pulled another trick and vanished in that leaf thing of his. That wasn't long ago, but he could be anywhere by now. I need EVERYONE out looking for him NOW."

Lily quirked an eyebrow at the response. "You must have really enjoyed that fight."

A calculating glare levelled him for a second before brushing the statement aside. "So where's your prisoner? You better not have let yours get away too."

Lily chuckled deeply and flicked a thumb over his shoulder. "You think I'd turn up in front of you empty handed? He's on the Legion."

No answer was given as Erza pushed past him with a grunt and stomped towards the prisoner. Lily's smirk abruptly dropped as he watched his superior leave once she couldn't see his face. There was something… off… about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It could have just been the afterglow of the fight but… something was different.

Meanwhile, Knightwalker had stomped over to the captive and nearly punched the blond when he cried out, "Hang on, Panther Lily swore I wouldn't be hurt!"

"Like hell he did, mage!" came the mocking retort. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now and save us the effort of dragging your corpse home?"

As the bickering continued, an unseen conversation went on between the two as their fingers flicked through a simplified sign language.

YOU – OK

YES – CAT – PROTECT – ME – ENERGY – LOW – CLOSE – DISPEL

WAIT – UNTIL – CASTLE – OBSERVE SURROUNDINGS – DISPEL – WITHIN – PRISON CELL

ROGER – CAN – REMAIN – THAT – LONG – ENEMY – STATUS

DEAD – BURIED

ORIGINAL – LOCATION

ESCAPE – REJOIN – L

Finishing up, Erza smacked Naruto upside the head and laughed scornfully. The blond timed the hit perfectly and exaggerated the motion to fake a harder blow. "Whatever, criminal. Enjoy your life while it lasts."

She dodged the spit aimed at her face and she strutted back to Lily. "We're going back to the King to report. I hate to say it but I think that one I lost might be heading towards the capital."

The vastly larger male nodded and whistled at a few soldiers. "What of the airship?"

The woman flicked an eye over in the direction the large ship was last seen heading towards. "Send a half dozen Legion's with two soldiers on each to investigate. Enough questions, we're leaving."

Grabbing the nearest Legion, the fiery redhead launched herself into the seat and kicked the beast into motion. It bellowed and rose into the air.

"Lily!" Leg halfway over his own mount, the cat looked up. "You lead point, I'm going to circle and look for any traces of the criminal on the way back."

Not waiting for a reply, the Commander pulled on the reigns and steered the monster away. Watching her leave, the warrior's eyes narrowed. Erza always had point, no matter what the situation was. Glancing back at his captive, Lily found Naruto to be sitting quietly, his eyes closed with a soft orange glow rimming them. He hummed deeply as he stared at him before pulling himself up. Something had definitely happened in that fight because Erza wasn't her. What it was, he had no idea, but he'd bet his sword that the blond behind him was somehow directly involved.

Still, for now with no evidence to go off he had no choice but to obey. "Men, to me!"

His powerful voice rang out and the vast number of them jumped onto their rides and rose up into the air with him.

XxXxXxX

Japanese translations:

"That tasted gross Naruto!"

"Sorry Ryu! Thanks for saving me there!"

"Gross! I'll never get used to this."

"Not my problem. You asked for it."

"I'll drop you now. I'll be down in a moment."

A/N - Hello again fine people! It is I, Lanky, with another update.

Who was expecting that ending? Who even remembers what is going on? No blame placed if you can't, we all know how rubbish my upload schedule is now. For this chapter, I wanted it to be the last of this arc, but once it cracked the 10'000 word mark I thought it be best to split it in two. I'm like, 99 percent sure next chapter will be the last before this gruelling saga is over and we can move onto the next and final arc, the S-Rank tests.

The end is in sight and I'm excited to get there! It has been many years in the making and I'm still determined to see the end of it.

As always, leave a review if you felt moved to do so, and if possible in a way that might help my writings! All feedback is good feedback so I appreciate it all!

Thanks again and I'll see you next chapter.

Lanky Nathan